So I am planning my HTPC and have figured out all of the components I want besides the universal remote. Since this is going to be my first HTPC but my knowledge of universal remotes that work well with PCs is limited. I would prefer one that comes with an IR blaster and won't completely break my bank... any recommendations???
I have this http://www.soundgraph.com/Eng_/Products/imon21.aspx?topMenu=2&subMenu=2&leftMenu=21 It works terrificly. Even boots Windows by remote and shuts it down. Comes bundled with a great player for music, DVD's and photo slide show, etc. No extra sound packs to by either. Mine is the iMON VFD, and got it here for $79.99 http://sharkacomputers.com/imonvfd.html
thanks alot, there are just so many out there and reviews are all over the place when it comes to these devices
how's the software (iMEDIAN HD)? I'm mostly a media player classic fan and my machine specs (see left) are perfectly suited for MKV HD playback through MPC, VLC, and the other freeware proggies but it sufferes in something like an XP or Vista Media Center GUI. So how is the software? I tried downloading it to demo it out but it won't allow me to execute w/o having the IR sensor installed.
iMON software can be crabby under Vista. It has VFD corruption issues. It's a lot better for XP. I'm unsure if Media Player Classic will detect properly. A lot of front panel features (spectrum analyzer etc) only work with MCE and WMP. It's a cool gadget when it works... but not so much when the News & Weather servers are down. EDIT: Oh and I second what Helpful said about booting by remote. Why doesn't MCE remote do that (properly)?
If all you want is a *PC* universal remote, the ATI Remote Wonder PLUS works very well (at least up to WinXP - and is RF based so you don't need line of sight - I control my PC from another floor with mine!), and there are plugins available for it for just about any of the current popular media players: http://remotew.free.fr/plugins.htm If you want to get fancier with control, both Girder and EventGhost can be used with the PLUS version of the RW as it's an X10 compatible device (ATI also made the Remote Wonder II which was based on different technology and is NOT an X10 device, so watch out for that because although it works with the same ATI drivers and software and plugins, it is NOT fully compatible with Girder or EventGhost). Girder and EventGhost are scripting applications that you can program to control every single aspect of your PC that you can dream of. ATI no longer sells these, but they are readily available for about $15 USD plus shipping from various sellers on eBay. **HOWEVER** I was under the impression that the original poster wanted a Universal Remote that could control the PC as well as any of the other stand alone home theater components (DVD Player, TV, Receiver, etc). If that's the case, then I'd be interested in info on those devices too please. Cheers, The REAL Joe
Soundgraph makes a remote control that is RF too > http://www.soundgraph.com/Eng_/Products/imon11.aspx?topMenu=2&subMenu=1&leftMenu=11 If you want to, you can use these devices to do just about anything a mouse can do and more. The included software is not SE (Sucky Edition) like many vendors. The DVD player with 5.1 surround sound, slide show, graphic equalizer, scrolling news, virtual keyboard, etc.,are really good quality. I have the iMON VFD, which I got from Sharka for $79.99. News ,weather, sports, internet speed, system specs. all scroll across the Vacuum Flourescent Display ( if you want them to ). You can also change the static display message just by typing in what you want it to say. Mine says, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME?"
A company called Gyration makes a HTPC remote control that has gyros inside of it for motion tracking. I used a mouse of theirs before, and the idea was that you hold a button down, and that becomes the origin point, and as you wave left/right/up/down it can move your mouse pointer for you, so you not only have a remote control, but a remote control WITH the ability to do somewhat more complicated tasks you could normally do better with a mouse. Only $100 too... http://www.gyration.com/p-68-media-...-control-windows-media-center-compatible.aspx
I'm surprised no one has mentioned a harmony remote yet. You will have to use a MCE receiver, and that has support for IR blasters AFAIK. I have seen harmonies on sell a lot lately amazon had some for around $40-50 at one point. You could get that and a MCE remote for under $100
im sorry if this is off topic or stupid even, but do all remotes require a seperate IR reciever or whatever? i was thinking of just getting a cheapy 360 remote but its based on IR and was wondering how the feck that could work?
If you have a Media Centre IR Reciever any MCE remote will work, i use a HP Media Center remote on my xbox 360 for the Extender.